Surf Life Saving WA receives new rescue boards featuring artwork depicting a day at the beach

A decorated new board is carried by Mullaloo SLSC's Wes Gould and Hilton artists Jake and Ange Butler at City Beach this morning. Picture: Jon Bassett

THE art on new rescue boards donated to Surf Life Saving WA (SLSWA) show all the duties volunteers provide for safer beaches across WA in summer.

“It’s a day in the life of a nippers’ day at the beach,” Hilton artist Ange Butler said.

All of WA’s 31 surf clubs will get one of the boards, six smaller boards to train nippers and a marquee to protect lifesavers from the sun in the first year of a $600,000, three-year sponsorship deal between SLSWA and energy company AGL launched at City Beach this morning.

Mrs Bulter and her husband Jake are both members of North Cottesloe Surf Life Saving Club, and together the couple designed the logo for the boards to be distributed to clubs in January.

“With summer just around the corner, we’re gearing up for our busiest time of the year and are grateful for the assistance of AGL,” SLSWA president Craig Smith-Gander said.

Last summer, about 19,000 surf lifesaving volunteers spent about 141,000 hours patrolling beaches where they conducted 1215 rescues and provided first aid to 3553 people.

AGL WA head Natalie Edwards said the company chose to help surf lifesavers because the volunteers were important to WA.

“Each year we will assess what the clubs need and then decide what equipment to provide,” Ms Edwards said.

The sponsorship includes AGL also backing SLSWA’s lifesaver and volunteer of the year awards.